Garden Shed Solar Energy

Welcome to this Squidoo Lens about solar energy for heating, lighting, and power for a garden shed. You will discover some very useful information about solar energy and solar systems. You will find other links to other websites with more in depth information about solar power for a shed.

The sun, is a great source of energy and best of all, it is a resource that will never run out -- or at least, not in the next 5 billion years.

If you do not want to pay for energy for your garden shed then a solar energy system maybe the answer.

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Solar energy produced by our sun is a radiant (light and heat) energy. Collecting solar energy on the earth can be used to produce heat or electricity.

A closed car is an example of a solar collector. Think of the light energy passing through a car window glass and absorbed in the car's interior. This energy trapped inside the car has been converted into heat energy.

Solar energy can be considered a renewable resource because ther is no affect its future supply.

As a resource, solar energy could be used to generate electricity for heating, light, and powering electric tools.

Imagine your garden shed roof with affordable solar energy panels that plug into a socket and pump power into an electrical system for powering your garden shed.

If you are interested in generating you own electricity for your shed then you might find in solar energy panel kits a great option to do it easily and cheaply. These kits will help you build your own solar energy panels for generating photovoltaic solar energy.

A search online will reveal a lot of results and many different products and kits.

These solar panel kits are often a turnkey solution that make the process of tapping into the sun's energy simpler. These kits do require some electrical experience. If you do not have the experience you may consider finding an experienced solar installer you can hire to carry out the technical stages of the installation.

For a shed the option you should consider is a building the solar energy source with no power connection with your main house electricity source. In short, you will be working with an off-grid situation.

A complete photovoltaic system also known as a solar electrical power source consist of many parts to function safely and properly. A solar system can provide the shed with electrical freedom from the utility company. No longer will you be dependent on their supply of power.

Here is what you need to install to generate your own power and let the sun do all the work for you!

Here are the basic parts of a solar system:

1. Solar Modules (aka photovoltaic Panels) to collect the energy from the sun and convert it into direct current.

2. From the photovoltaic Panels, the DC power is passed through a charge controller that controls the current that feeds batteries at the appropriate battery voltage. This will prolongs the batteries life and ensures properly charged batteries ready for optimal use.

3. Power Inverter converts the direct current from the panels into AC for your heat, lights, and power tools.

4. PV Disconnect allows you to turn off power so you can work on the solar system without electrocuting yourself.

5. A breaker box installed on the shed where the solar system connects to your shed.

6. Net meter connects your shed to the grid so you can measure how much power you use from - or provide to - the power grid at large.

Solar hot air systems can be used to provide heated air for heating a garden shed. This happens with solar collection panels.

These panel are best mounted on roof of the shed to allow for a clear unobstructed view of the sun. Any object which blocks the light of the sun from reaching the solar collection panels will reduce the output of heat.

How all this works. The sun light passes through the collector glass onto plates that absorbs the heat.

A temperature sensor mounted in the solar collection panel provides a signal to a differential controller. This differential controller then compares the temperature of the interior air to temperature of the panels.

When the sun heats the panels temperature above shed interior air temperature the controller will turns on a circulation fan. The fan blows cool air threw the collector.

When the air follows through the collector it is heated by the plates. The heated air then will flow into the shed by way of a fan.

The fan will continues to run until the shed reaches the desired temperature, or the collector plates cools down to a level where heat can not be extract from the solar energy collector.

When planning to build a shed with a set of quality garden shed plans include plans for a Solar Hot Air System to heat the shed during the cold months.

This would be a great way to provide power for heating, lighting, and power tools. This would be great for using power tool with an extension chord while working in the yard or garden.

The solar power will eliminate the need to run long cables or extension chords from a near power source usually your house. Solar panels and the associated equipment to convert direct current to alternating current can be the best solution.

Maybe you only need a single small solar energy panel for occasional power for low energy lighting, or maybe several panels to provide enough power for heating, power tools, and other appliances.

For garden sheds the framed solar panels seem to most appropriate power source. Framed panels tend to be cheaper for providing power and are easier to mount on the roof of a shed. This type of panel is robust and provides a long working life without a lot of maintenance.

Do Your Homework!

Also, you might want to do some homework about possible local, state and federal rebates that may be available. With these incentives, you may find the retail price of solar energy panel kits to be lower than first expected.

Learn more about solar energy and garden shed plans at gardenshedplansonline.com